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WE HAVE MANY BEAUTIFUL TRADITIONS; FAMILY VIOLENCE IS NOT ONE OF THEM.

O'Keefe, M. (1994). "Racial/Ethnic Differences among Battered Women and their Children." Journal of Child and Family Studies, 3, 283-305. Language: English

Ethnicity/race has received relatively little attention in the spousal violence literature. Whereas some investigators have found that spousal abuse is more prevalent in minority populations, particularly among African-American families, other investigators found no racial/ethnic differences. The studies that do exist have focused primarily on prevalence rates of spousal violence and have not examined other family or contextual factors. Also, no studies have examined whether race/ethnicity impacts the emotional and behavioral adjustment of children exposed to marital violence. The purpose of the present study is to provide descriptive and analytic information on a sample of racially/ethnically diverse battered women and their children assessing their backgrounds, amount of violence, family functioning and child adjustment. Findings indicate few statistically significant racial/ethnic differences on numerous background and family functioning measures. The implications of the findings are discussed. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

The writer examines the growing need for culturally competent and professionally trained human service professionals in the field of domestic violence with the growing population of Latinos in the United States. A review of prior research studies is conducted which suggests that both socioeconomic factors and sociocultural indicators may be the underpinning of patriarchy, sexism, and violence toward Latinas. Domestic violence assistance at the local and national levels is discussed.